This summer at the Bean Museum, kids have bean having so much fun at summer camps! In July, the Bean Life Science Museum hosted Biology Bootcamp, a week-long day camp for children ages 7 to 11. The camp consisted of five days, each with a theme modeled after different ecosystems throughout the world.
Monday focused on the marine ecosystem as children learned about how different marine life swim, eat, and survive in deep ocean environments. The children had the opportunity to watch a fish dissection, create a clay shark, and use their imagination and observation skills as they hopped on a pretend submarine to enter a journey to the hadal zone.
Tuesday’s theme was savanna safari. On this day, the children learned about mammals in the savanna as they participated in games and crafts focused on how mammals survive in a savanna ecosystem. The biggest hit was a popular outdoor game called survival of the fittest, where the children split into animal teams and tried their best to survive in the wild by gathering food and water while avoiding potential poachers and disease.
Wednesday was jungle day. Children had the opportunity to explore the museum with a scavenger hunt, visit BYU’s duck pond, learn how to dance like a bird of paradise, and even got a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum’s wet collection. The day ended with a craft and fun rock-paper-scissors game, making Wednesday a big hit.
Thursday was an exciting day for the kids as the campers field tripped to the local Provo River Delta to learn about wetlands. On this day, the children had the opportunity to kayak in the wetland ecosystem at the delta and received hands-on experience as they learned to record observations in a field journal like real wetland scientists.
The week’s finale was a field trip to Utah’s Hogle Zoo, giving the kids the chance to see all the animals they had learned about throughout the week in real life. Biology Bootcamp was a huge hit, and the museum cannot wait to host more summer camps like it next year!
Audrey Gordon, Student Educator